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Do you ever wonder whether your charitable donations actually make a difference or for that matter ever reach the intended recipients? Since we’re just coming out of the biggest giving season of the year it’s an appropriate time to explore these questions.

Since 2002 the majority of our charitable contributions have gone to Nu Skin’s Nourish the Children initiative (NTC) through VitaMeal donations. From the very beginning, a big part of Nu Skin’s mission has been to improve people’s lives. While striving to fulfill that mission, NSE has always promoted social responsibility, and giving back as core values. Nourish the Children and VitaMeal fit those criteria extremely well.

But how do we know for sure that NTC is truly making a difference and reaching those in need? Here are six reasons that immediately come to mind. Undoubtedly, there are more.

Product rather than cash – By donating product rather than cash, we know exactly how our contributions are being used and know that our donation is making a critical difference in the lives of children.

Destination reports – One of the benefits of making donations to NTC is that you automatically receive regular destination reports showing you where the donations are going and who’s receiving them. None of the other charities we contribute to have ever done this.

Four Star rated distribution partner – Virtually every country in the world has hungry children, but VitaMeal donations are delivered to places where children need it most. Feed The Children (primary distribution partner) is well suited to support NTC as one of the few charities that deal mostly with non-cash donations. CharityNavigator.org gives Feed the Children four stars.

Contributing to self-sufficiency – NSE has financed locally-owned and operated VitaMeal plants in Madilisto, Africa and Jixi, China providing both food and jobs for hundreds of local people. These plants make it much more efficient and less costly to provide VitaMeal to needy children in Malawi, China, Indonesia, North Korea, Thailand and the Philippines. Combined these plants produce well over a million meals a month.

170 million meals donated to date – Nearly 100,000 malnourished children are receiving highly nutritious food everyday through VitaMeal which is designed to support good health and reduce illness. Those receiving VitaMeal include children in China, Southeast Asia, AIDS orphans in Malawi, the Southwest US and victims of disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, and the tsunami in Indonesia.

As Nu Skin distributors we all have the option to contribute to NTC. Support can be in the form of personal donations or through innovative social enterprise where you regularly generate donations as part of your business. So the next time you wonder whether your charitable donations are making a difference you only have to look to Nourish the Children for the answer. For us it is very gratifying to be NTC Ambassadors and to know without a doubt that our donations are indeed having a positive and measurable impact.

Have you ever found yourself wondering if what’s on the label of products you use or are considering buying are actually in the product? Most of us don’t have the time or inclination to verify this for the hundreds of products we use. As a result we have to trust what companies tell us is in fact true. Reality is, this is not always the case. While reading a recent Natural News Insider Alert I learned that a product I’ve used and enjoyed for years is a current example of the bait-and-switch tactics employed by some companies. The particular product I learned about is Silk Soy Milk which up until a few months ago was sold clearly marked as USDA certified organic. Then one day that labeling simply disappeared. What Dean Foods (owner of the Silk brand) chose to covertly do was to change from an organic product to a non-organic product without telling consumers. Whether this decision was based on the cost or availability of organic ingredients or a way to increase profits isn’t really clear. What is clear is that Dean Foods chose to make this change and hope that no one (even their retailers) would notice or care. (read full article here)

How reassuring it is to know that the NSE products we represent (Nu Skin and Pharmanex) will always contain what’s required to deliver the safest and most effective products on the market. This doesn’t mean that ingredients won’t change over time it just means we can trust that what is going into our products is based on the most current and rigorous research as well as manufacturing processes. From the onset 25 years ago, NSE made the brand promise of “All of the good, none of the bad” regarding products brought to market. Over the years this promise has been refined through painstaking scientific discipline that equals or exceeds the standards set by the pharmaceutical industry—delivering that same pharmaceutical approach to natural health and skin care.

If you’ve been around NSE for any amount of time surely you’ve heard about the company’s 6S Quality Process. This process ensures users that Nu Skin and Pharmanex products are developed through clinical and pre-clinical testing (the measurable difference) and not on simple anecdotal evidence. This innovative approach is the result of years of unparalleled research by the company in skin and nutritional science combined with some of the greatest minds in the scientific world. All of this reinforces the latest Nu Skin brand promise of the Difference Demonstrated. (more about the 6S process and the latest hot topics)

You should find great comfort each and every day as you work your business knowing that distributors and customers will never experience such a bait-and-switch tactic from Nu Skin or any of our products. No skimping on ingredients or cutting corners for the sake of increasing corporate profits. The products simply deliver results as promised. They are referenced in national and international publications. (see the latest news coverage) We can all trust in the knowledge that NSE has a proven track record of bringing innovative and effective products to market. This not only relieves the pressure of having to worry about the quality, safety and efficacy of the products your represent but frees you to focus 100 percent on building your business with complete confidence. No need for concern about bait-and-switch here. And it doesn’t get much better than that!

It’s no secret that one of the keys to creating a long term residual income with our business rests in creating a base of customers who consume products. Have you stopped to really think about this concept and to realize how important the lifetime value of each customer is to you? (lifetime value equals the total amount a customer spends over the time they do business with you) Once you have an idea of what this number look like you’ll begin to realize what just a 5% to 10% increase in retention of customers means to your business.

Research finds that repeat customers spend, on average, 67 percent more than new customers. (Source: Bain and Company) So how do you get repeat business and earn customer loyalty?

Take a lesson from many small businesses that long ago grasped the importance of building customer relationships. They nurture their customers through personal interaction and over time learn and remember individual preferences and interests. They keep in touch with customers on a regular basis ensuring their products remain “top of mind.” (Craig Bryson’s Nu View technology will absolutely impact this—to learn more go to craigbryson.com and look in NuLab)

Let’s look at a couple of examples. Take a customer who spends only $25 per month. That equals $300 on an annual basis. If they remain your customer for four years that means their value to you without any increase is $1200. Now, let’s look at what happens when they increase the amount spent by just 10% per year. At the end of four years they are now spending $33 per month or $399 annually. (33% more than when they started—isn’t compounding grand) As you grow your customer base to say 100 over the course of a year you’ll see the following results. Total revenue in those four years is just shy of $140,000.

Yr. 1

100 x 300 =

$ 30,000

Yr. 2

100 x 330 =

$ 33,000

Yr. 3

100 x 363 =

$ 36,300

Yr. 4

100 x 399 =

$ 39,900

Four Yr. Total

$139,200

With the introduction of the new ageLOC products growing many of your current and new customers to the $100 per month level becomes a real probability. Even if only 5% – 10% of your customers do this you can see what potential exists. Now duplicate this 5, 10, 20 or more times in your organization and the numbers become pretty impressive.

So the next time you look at that $25 sale to a new customer don’t underestimate what their true lifetime value means to the growth of your business and income.